Writer: Big 12 has two of the country’s 10 best coaches in OU’s Bob Stoops and TCU’s Gary Patterson, Texas’ Mack Brown checks in at No. 39

Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, Oklahoma has won seven outright Big 12 championships, by far, the most in the conference.

So it’s not surprise that when Sporting News ranking all 125 FBS football head coaches, the Sooners’ Bob Stoops was the first listed from the Big 12. Stoops checked in as the fourth-best coach in the country, behind only Alabama’s Nick Saban, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Boise State’s Chris Petersen. TCU’s Gary Patterson, who has only been coaching one year in the Big 12 but became the Horned Frogs’ all-time wins leader during that season.

“Go ahead and focus on the second half meltdown against Texas A&M in a meaningless bowl game,” Matt Hayes wrote. “I prefer to zero in on eight Big 12 championships in 14 years, an average of 10.6 wins a season and eight BCS bowls — all at a place with Alabama-sized expectations.”

Patterson’s first year in the Big 12 didn’t go as smoothly as his years in the Mountain West. Casey Pachall wasn’t on the team by season’s end and the Horned Frogs played more true freshmen in than anyone in the country.

“All those years dominating the Mountain West Conference, and his first year at the BCS level came with numerous key injuries and the suspension of his starting quarterback for drug use,” Hayes wrote. “The Frogs were 4-0 with QB Casey Pachall; 3-6 without him. Don’t judge Patterson on one season of turmoil.”

Three other Big 12 coaches cracked the Top 25 — Kansas State’s Bill Snyder (No. 11), Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy (No. 16) and Baylor’s Art Briles (No. 22). Despite being the highest-paid and the second-winningest coach in the conference, Mack Brown wasn’t in the top half of the list of the Big 12′s best coaches.

“It’s hard to argue with the success Brown has had at Texas — and just as hard to ignore the last three underachieving seasons,” Hayes wrote of Brown (No. 39). “At some point — soon — Brown and his staff must develop all of those elite recruiting classes into a championship team. Or at least one that can contend for a championship.

“He’s young, he’s a fiery go-getter and he’s an alumnus,” Hayes wrote. “What more could Texas Tech ask for from its new coach? The fact that he has played and coached with guys like Mike Leach and Kevin Sumlin and Holgorsen can only be a positive thing.”

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